P90x (Read 6264 times)

DoppleBock

posted: 12/23/2009 at 2:43 PMmodified: 12/23/2009 at 2:45 PM

EGH3

Running is a very repetitious motion that leaves many muscles out. I believe no matter how many miles you are running 20-30 minutes 4-6x a week for some weights / core is great. Support muscles in the knees, hips & groin can become serious injury isssues to runners.

Be careful in your weightlifting (Strength exercises), you always want to keep your muscles in balance. Stomache too strong vs back, gonna have back issues. Quads or hamstrings stronger than the other - likely IT band issues. A lot of muscles are interconnected and when the harmony is destroyed you will discover pain in a weaker area.

Retired 1/1/13 ... Tired of being broken and fat ... Hit 296# Memorial Day 2016 - New goal = To be able to enjoy running 4-5 hours through the woods again by Fall 2016. April 2017

I feel the need to rant. And it’s a slow day at the office preparing for the holiday break.

First, P90X is stupid. There, I said it. (I like Jeff's description, pee 90 times )

Second, Crossfit’s quality has dipped tremendously with expansion. There are still some good affiliates out there but the rapid growth has led to watered down certifications of the staff and very poor coaching/training. The Workouts of the Day (WOD) seem more focused on who can come up with the most bizarre workout. Yeah, I’m sure balancing on one leg on a bosu ball while doing alternate dumbbell kickbacks with a 2.5lb pink dumbbell does a lot of good. Yeesh.

Crossfit was initially designed to blend strength training and metabolic conditioning with “some” aerobic training. A typical WOD is only about 20 minutes, maybe only 6-10 minutes for newbs. It’s supposed to be General Physical Preparedness (GPP) and suited to cops and firefighters and others that require GPP for their work. It’s intense and there are still a lot of cops and firefighters that use the program. BUT, the program is also much more beneficial if people build a base of strength first. Bulk up with heavy weights and lots of food on a pure strength program, then use Crossfit metcon and, very importantly, a calorie reduction to lean out and build more endurance and aerobic capacity.

What bugs me is that far too many runners waste their time in the gym. High reps, light weights are a waste of a runner’s time. And I hear/read that advice all over running sites and magazines. P90X is also a waste of your time. (caveat: an untrained person will benefit from any weight lifting – for a while. The question is whether it’s optimal).

What’s my point? Your running should be your aerobic work and speed work can offer anaerobic/metcon trainng. As far as weight training it’s helpful to remember that muscle can either get stronger or weaker. You don’t “tone” it and you can’t lengthen muscle without surgery. P90X is basically a metcon workout. It’s mostly endurance work and very hard to gain any kind of strength from it (again, exception to untrained newbs). Running should be your endurance workout, weights should be for getting stronger. I’d guess that running 30 to 40 mpw and doing P90X would result in serious recovery issues – you’re taxing the same energy systems.

Simpler is better. Properly performed squats, deadlifts, presses and chins/pull-ups are pretty much all anyone needs. And the focus should be on strength; let your running build your endurance. 2 sets of 5 reps, 3 sets of 3 reps, 4x6, etc. with a weight that is challenging and slowly adding a little bit of weight each time you do it (same as running - progressive overload) is far more beneficial than wiping yourself out and gasping for air with 60 minutes of high rep weight work and pointless isolation exercises. Adapt the frequency and intensity to your running training schedule.

</rant>

Oh, second rant: Lifting weights in this way does not bulk you up. I hear that as a big excuse not to train with weights. Weight training does not bulk you up. Only a surplus of calories can do that. No caloric surplus, no weight gain or bulk. Period. No exceptions.

</second rant>

Are you speaking from experience or are you " just sayin"?

The problem with what you said is it breathes too many absolutes. You "should" be running for endurance you "should" be lifting weights for strength. What someone "should" do depends largely on the situation. P90x makes as much sense for someone whith physique goals as running couped with "strength" training does for a runner with performance goals. Calling it "stupid" and trying to back it up with some generic personal trainer rational isn't very fair.

For years I shared the same train of thought as you. I did running for endurance, intervals for anaerobic conditioning and heavy sets of compound weights for strength exactly as you described. I told the other runners how they were completely wasting ther time messing around with those bosu balls doing balaning acts or what not. I laughed as they played around in the corner with resistance bands and stability balls. I told them how messing around with such light weights for hours was just a waste of time. Yeah, I touted the same exact rational as you. Well, I developed a massive muscular imbalance which has sidelined my running, probably till next spring(if not later!). And would you beleive it, 7 days per week I'm at the physical therapists balancing on bosu balls and playing with resistance bands. My physical therapists told me my "strength" regime was all backwards for a runners goals(she had a theroy of her own, go figure).

The point is there aren't any absolutes. Everything is "stupid" to somebody and everything makes sense.

FEFY- We (spouse and I) are going to follow the eating plan as long as it is feasible. We don't have a ton of extra time to prepare food. Neither of us is overweight, so we don't need to lose any weight, but would like to have more muscle and less jiggle.

Got it for Christmas. Just waiting on neck to fully heal so I can start it

Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

Merry Xmas everyone. Yes, fastenough i am what Beachbody calls a coach. The main program I promote is P90X because I find the people that want to do it have a lot in common with myself. The term coach might be a little misleading but basically I just share what I know about their programs. I am not a personal trainer or a nutritionist but I loved what I got out of P90X so I decided to help others with it. Once a week we have a little group that gets together and do either plyo or core synergistics and sometime yoga x. Keeps it fun.

During my initial 90 days with P90X I followed the nutrition plan about 90%. I'm a sucker for beer and mexican food. I actually wrote a short post about the nutrition plan if you want to read it

P90X Nutrition Plan Some people will already a have plan in place but it never hurts to see how someone else views something. Just might give you a different perspective.

Well I'm injured so I can not run for at least 8 weeks so I'm going to put this P90X to the test. I can do weights and the like just fine but I can not run so this will work out. I figured my options are either spend 60-90 minutes per day on this stupid arc trainer(the only aerobic X training I can do) or just dive into something like P90x. I'm the tuype who needs goals to be motivated so this should work out.

THis will be a great test for me, because for years I have been trying to smash the 10% body fat barrier to no avail. I have tried all types of dieting from intermittent fasting to carb cycling, you name it. If this program can get me below 10% BF within the 90 days it gets my stamp of approval. If not, ohh well I have nothing better to do for the next 90 days.

Merry Xmas everyone. Yes, fastenough i am what Beachbody calls a coach. The main program I promote is P90X because I find the people that want to do it have a lot in common with myself. The term coach might be a little misleading but basically I just share what I know about their programs. I am not a personal trainer or a nutritionist but I loved what I got out of P90X so I decided to help others with it. Once a week we have a little group that gets together and do either plyo or core synergistics and sometime yoga x. Keeps it fun.

During my initial 90 days with P90X I followed the nutrition plan about 90%. I'm a sucker for beer and mexican food. I actually wrote a short post about the nutrition plan if you want to read it

Good article. The diet plan looks easy. I ran cycles of less than 30 grams of carbs per day. A few questions(my P90x is in the mail)- 1) What kind of caloric deficit does it have you run(20-30% etc..)? 2) Does it really matter if I eat the exact foods advocated by the plan or can I just work out the macro's and build my own meals?

I do not feel you need to eat the exact foods. The meal plan is best for someone who needs help in the nutrition area and needs to understand how carbs work with their body. It's nice because it is simple to follow. I think most people here know how to eat pretty well so the nutrition part usually isn't a problem but what I do find is some times people don't eat enough. So that is something to watch. During my first 90 days with P90X I did lose a few lbs and I wasn't trying to lose any weight so I had to add some calories to maintain. I did feel like I was eating a ton but I guess I needed it. I actually wouldn't mind putting on about 10 lbs but I never seem to be able to eat enough.

As far as the P90X supplements goes, that is up to each individual whether or not they want to buy them. I feel most people need some sort of multivitamin and a protein supplement. Where you get them is up to you. Personally I drink an EAS protein shake, I eat the P90X protein Bars and I really like Shakeology which has over 70 ingredients. Nutrition really is a important part in any exercise regiment.

I'm not a supplement person myself. I stick with a few basics- protein/carb shake for recovery and fish oil. However, calorie partitioning is very important when it comes to achieving low body fat levels(which is my goal with p90X).